Volume 77, Issue 1

AAUW Branch Programs

We are pleased to share our current plans for our AAUW Arlington Branch 2020-21 programs with you.  Please note our fall meetings will be on Zoom and the link to join will be sent to Arlington Branch members using our Google group closer to the actual dates.  Feel free to pass on information about our programs to friends and colleagues and invite them to join us for these sessions. Zoom information about our meetings may also be requested from presarlvaaauw@gmail.com.

Our September 21st meeting will focus on learning more about the redistricting amendment that will be on the November ballot in the Virginia general election and may be of interest to a wider audience.

Our 2020-21 Program Calendar – Mark your calendars now!

• • Monday, September 21 7 pm Zoom – Redistricting Reform in Virginia, Confirmed Speaker, Brian Cannon, Exec Director OneVirginia 2021.
  • Saturday, October 17 10:00 am Zoom – Challenging Racism presentation, Confirmed Speaker, Alicia McLeod, Exec.Director, Challenging Racism. We will join with the  AAUW Virginia Northern District members for this presentation.
  • Tuesday, November 10 6 pm Zoom –  Collaborative program with other Arlington women’s organizations will be a panel discussion on “Transformational Role of Women’s Advocacy and Leadership in a Monumental Year”, Confirmed Panel Participants, Mary Margaret Whipple, Former State Senator, and Stacey D. Stewart, President, March of Dimes.
  • Saturday, December 12 – Virtual or in person Holiday Luncheon celebrating 2020 scholarship awardees and 2020 Educator of the Year winner.
  • Saturday, January 23 10:30 am tentative – Title IX Update Based on new Dept of Ed Regulations/Sexual Harassment on Campus (Feb 20 date held as snow date alternative), Speaker TBD.
  • Saturday, March 20 10:30 am – Annual Meeting, Women’s Financial Security, Confirmed Speaker, Ann Summerson, Financial Advisor.
  • Monday, April 12 7:00 pm – Girls and Stem, Dr. Confirmed Speaker, Argie Kavvada, NASA, and female winners of Northern Va. Regional Science Fair.
  • Monday, May 17 7:00 pm – Celebration of 2021 Scholarship Winners and Educator of Year Winner.

We look forward to an interesting and informative year!!!!!

Updated (July 23, 2020) AAUW, Arlington Branch, Programs, 2020-21

Meg Tuccillo, Co-VP Programs

---

AAUW Funds Named Honorees for 2019 

The branch may select an honoree to be recognized by AAUW of Virginia for service to the branch or community for each $500 donation to AAUW Funds.  Honorees receive a handsome certificate, which unfortunately have not been presented yet due to our inability to meet in person.  

Our members donated $2,640.00 in 2019, so we could award five honoree certificates. There are many deserving members, and it is always difficult to make a choice. Join me in congratulating the following honorees for 2019:  

Sara Anderson, for continuing her unwavering support for public policy, especially Lobby Corps, while also being one of the AAUW Virginia Northern District representatives;  

Chioma Eni, for guiding content of our public programs towards AAUW Strategic Goals while commuting to and from Houston for a new work assignment;  

Michele Milden, for reviving the activities of the Membership VP in the face of considerable health challenges; 

Susan Senn, for stepping in wherever needed, especially to guide the Lunch Bunch and to support the transition in managing our website and social media: and 

Chris White, for her transformative work as Treasurer, establishing a budget and initiating an innovative process to raise funds for our annual awards.  

It is my hope that I will soon have the opportunity at an in-person gathering to award these honorees their certificates. 

Carol Dabbs, President

---

Meet Susan Scott

Let’s welcome Susan Scott, a new member of the Arlington Branch AAUW.  She is a career Air Force and Navy daughter/wife with two career paths. Her first career was in public policy where she worked for a US Senator for four years. She obtained an MPP at the Humphrey Institute and worked in applied policy.  After starting a family, Susan began a 13 year career in executive recruiting (for nonprofits) and talent acquisition with Development Resources, Inc, a women-owned Arlington small business, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Susan is married with two young adult children and had  meaningful and long term volunteer work with Arlington Public Schools’ (APS) Advisory Council on Instruction Performing  Arts subcommittee as a band and chorus parent and with the Girl Scouts.

For more than eight years she has co-taught the APS eight week parenting class for CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD), parenting children with ADHD/mental health issues which won CHADD’s best national teaching award in 2013) and was selected by APS in 2018 for their Honored Citizen Award.

Let’s Talk About Books

During the shelter-in-place conditions, we continue to have our book club meetings via Zoom.  Also, we will only be having one meeting per month and that will be at 2 pm on the fourth Tuesday.  Please mark your calendars and be alert for an invitation from Terry Bratt shortly before the meeting.

We are reading It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis for our September 22 meeting at 2 pm.

On October 27 at 2 pm we will be discussing White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo.

Both meetings will be located wherever your computer is located, so read the books and come join the fun!

Barbara Gallagher, Chair

Book List – 2020-2021

9/22	It Can’t Happen Here	Sinclair Lewis
10/27	White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism	Robin Diangelo
11/24	Born a Crime	Trevor Noah
12/22	Orphan Train	Christina B. Kline
1/26	The Night Watchman	Louise Erdich
2/23	Just Mercy: A story of Justice and Redemption	Bryan Stevenson
3/23	The Education of an Idealist	Samantha Power
4/27	The Pearl that Broke its Shell	Nadia Hashimi
5/25	A Place For Us	Fatima S. Mirza
6/22	A Woman Is No Man	Etaf Rum
7/19	A Prayer For Owen Meany	John Irving

Read brief descriptions of the books for 2020-2021 on the Let’s Talk About Books page.

---

Public Policy Events this Fall

As in past years, we are joining forces with the Arlington League of Women Voters for political activities this fall. These events will be either on Zoom or involve outside activities because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Arlington AAUW Branch members are encouraged to sign up directly using the links sent by LWV, or contact Public Policy Chair Sara Anderson or Joan Porte to volunteer.  The signs and other materials are at Joan’s house; arrange with her to get them.

The voter guide information is at vote411.org. The League of Women Voters is not providing it in another form this year.  If any branch members are interested in devising a flyer/voter guide from that information, please contact PP Chair Sara Anderson. These would be distributed through the same system as the other flyers.

Activities Planned:

• Voter registration – publicized by  delivering flyers to the Arlington Public Schools “grab and go” food sites for the kids who need food.
• In-person voter events – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aHaWdKjF1mkxL1FRj0cr8atSUHaRObAM/edit#gid=2120836977
• Putting yardsigns on the bike trails – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MC-0ZJp6iaTsZkohrvsxVeEJuDR7FDiDZDGHf7yWZ-Q/edit?usp=sharing
• Volunteering  to put signs up in the stores in Buckingham and Green Valley…..

Sara Anderson, Public Policy

---

Important Dates for November Election

November General Election:  November 3, 2020

• Early walk-in voting (no excuse):  September 19, 2020 – October 31,2020
• Deadline to register to vote:  October 13, 2020
• Deadline to request absentee ballot by mail:  October 27, 2020

Please go to the Virginia website link for elections for more information on casting a ballot.

• Virginia Department of Elections – https://www.elections.virginia.gov
• Absentee Voting in Virgina – https://www.eabsentee.org/g/vote2020/
• League of Woman Voters – https://www.vote411.org/

---

Newsletter Delivery to Arlington Branch Members

All branch members who have email addresses on file with AAUW will receive a link to the newsletter using our google group. A new feature this year is that our newsletter is a page on the website. You won’t have to keep track of a document sent as an attachment. To view the newsletter online, select the link for Newsletters from the menu.

At the July 2020 Board of Directors meeting, we agreed the few members who do not have an email address will receive paper copies of the newsletter at no charge. The Board further agreed that a (partially subsidized) fee of $20 must be paid to the Treasurer by others for mail delivery of our newsletters through June 30^th. This issue will be sent as a courtesy to those who have  paid in prior years.  

Carol Dabbs, President

---

Get Paid What You’re Worth

 

Take AAUW WorkSmart Online, a free one-hour salary negotiation course. It is designed to help women negotiate for a new job, raise, or promotion.

Sign up now!

---

AAUW of Virginia Members ZOOM to New Heights in July 

A record number of Virginia members of the American Association of University Women attended their annual Summer Leadership Meeting on July 25, 26, and 27.  In ZOOM sessions over the three days, members attended virtual meetings to hone their leadership skills, strategize federal and state advocacy efforts, and most importantly, stand in solidarity against racism.

Keynote speaker Mark Bowers, Founder and Executive Director of the Professional Development Consortium of Hampton Roads (PDCHR), kicked off the meeting by sharing practical advice on how to enhance the value of the organization to its members, identify target members, and engage members by using “Lead Smarter, Not Harder” methods.

Day 2 shined a spotlight on AAUW’s advocacy. Kate Nielson, AAUW Director of Public Policy and Legal Advocacy, spoke about plans for public policy and legal advocacy at AAUW, and the leadership role branches play in promoting AAUW’s public policy priorities. Madison Roberts, a recent UVA Master of Public Policy graduate, briefed the group on her gender-pay equity wage gap research, making significant recommendations for state legislation. 

State Co-Vice Presidents for Public Policy, Susan Burk and Denise Murden, followed with a blueprint for AAUW-VA public policy activities for the coming year, including a major focus on nonpartisan Get Out The Vote activities. AAUW believes that when women vote, they change the conversation!! AAUW of Virginia members will be engaging with lawmakers in Richmond on economic security issues for women and families. 

Day 3 was headlined by Dr. Janice Underwood, who was appointed by Governor Ralph Northam as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s first cabinet-level Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. This position is the first of its kind in the nation. Dr. Underwood challenged AAUW of Virginia to have the hard conversations about race and implement the One Virginia Statewide Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence as a model.  She urged AAUW members to link arms with other organizations to fight racial injustice and be part of the progress so that Virginia can be a more inclusive and welcoming place. 

A stirring presentation was delivered by Dr. Angela Hattery and Dr. Earl Smith modeled on their book Policing Black Bodies: How Black Lives Are Surveilled and How to Work for Change.  They described the ways, from slavery through 2020, that Black women’s bodies have been policed both literally and symbolically. Their presentation closed with a “call for action,” prescribing what AAUW could contribute to dismantling systemic racism. Dr. Hattery is the Incoming Co-Director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and Professor of Women and Gender Bias at the University of Delaware, and Dr. Smith is Professor Emeritus of American Ethnic Studies and Sociology at Wake Forest University. 

The meeting closed with the inspiring words of the late Congressman John R. Lewis–an American hero whose words should live on in the actions that we each take. From his book, Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America, Rep. Lewis wrote,  “Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”

Information from the AAUW-VA Summer Leadership Meeting is at https://aauw-va.aauw.net/summer-leadership-meeting/.

AAUW-VA Press Release

---

AAUW Calendar

Our AAUW Calendar has moved to google which means you can check it online from the website or subscribe and see it directly on your phone or laptop! Additional information about the events is available by clicking the item.  Contact Teri at newsarlvaaauw@gmail.com if you have any questions.

---

Arlington AAUW Board of Directors 2020-21

• • President: Carol Dabbs (2019-21) presarlvaaauw@gmail.com
  • Co-first VPs for Programs: Meg Tuccillo and Chioma Eni (2019-21)
  • Co-second VPs for Membership:  Michelle Milden (2019-21) and Gail McGinn (2020-22)
  • Third VP for Communications: Teri Doxsee (2019-21) newsarlvaaauw@gmail.com
  • Secretary: Marie Schryver (2020-22)
  • Treasurer: Gloria Rothman (2020-22)